{"id":38747,"date":"2023-10-27T16:39:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T14:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1915840"},"modified":"2023-10-28T04:39:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T02:39:40","slug":"casualty-boss-jon-sen-on-leaving-medical-drama-teaming-up-with-lenny-henry","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/casualty-boss-jon-sen-on-leaving-medical-drama-teaming-up-with-lenny-henry\/","title":{"rendered":"Casualty boss Jon Sen on leaving medical drama, teaming up with Lenny Henry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casualty executive producer Jon Sen talks leaving behind the show and what he has planned next with Sir Lenny Henry. <\/p>

By Lewis Knight\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 27 October 2023 at 14:39 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Jon Sen has explained why he left his role as executive producer of Casualty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The executive producer of Casualty, former executive producer of EastEnders<\/a>, and a development executive at BBC Studios, Jon Sen has long been at the centre of Continuing Drama at the BBC.<\/p>\n

After heading up EastEnders from 2019 to 2022, Sen moved to Casualty and has helped shift the style of the much-loved medical drama during his time at the show.<\/p>\n

After an acclaimed run heading up Casualty and seeing the medical drama win a BAFTA TV Award for Soap & Continuing Drama, Sen announced earlier this year that he would be leaving the show behind.<\/p>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Sen explained why he chose to depart the medical drama and also discussed his next move.<\/p>

\u201cI worked as a writer, director, story producer and then exec on Casualty,\u201d recalled Sen.<\/span> \u201cI adore the show. I watched it with my parents and together it\u2019s got a massive place in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained: \u201cWhen I joined the show, my ambition was to make it a British ER. I\u2019d always worked on it and I\u2019ve always loved the art and I was desperate to make something very similar in terms of energy, pace, number of guests, style, and authenticity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I set about working with the team in order to deliver that to the audience because these shows \u2013 and I\u2019ve always felt this \u2013 need constant reinvention to appeal to a new audience, otherwise they can become boring, stale, and kind of predictable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that will be the death of continuing drama, if people don\u2019t understand that they are vital and that they can have the capacity to reinvent themselves, then I think they will fall out of favour, given the competition that there is with streaming services \u2013 it\u2019s too easy to turn over now.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so you\u2019ve got to really renew your offer to an audience. You\u2019ve also got to be really consistent in what you deliver to an audience week in and week out. So they build allegiance to the brand. And that\u2019s something that I think we\u2019ve done over the last couple of years with Casualty<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nigel\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Nigel Harman joined Casualty as Max Christie during Jon Sen\u2019s tenure.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Discussing his approach to stories with \u2018special\u2019 and more focused episodes, Sen continued: \u201cWe\u2019ve used these special episodes in order to really tantalise the audience about the possibilities, whilst at the same time, we\u2019ve made really strong efforts to deliver consistent quality week in and week out, and we\u2019re seeing that in the viewing figures. The audience is really strong at the moment and kind of coming back to Casualty<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI work with a brilliant team, but the quantity of stories that the show takes is immense. And, you know, coming in, making some changes to the brand, bringing on the Nigel Harmans of the world, or, you know, I\u2019m really, really thrilled about the four new young nurses who have joined the show. We\u2019ve introduced new young nurses to the show many times and that\u2019s the most successful introduction of a cohort that we\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen concluded: \u201cHaving done that, I just felt it was time to [leave], you know \u2013 achieving what I wanted to set out to achieve. I felt it was time to move on and give somebody else a chance to lead what is an amazing show.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Sen now has a very exciting new venture that he is moving to, following on from his departure from the BBC later this year.<\/p>\n

\"Lenny\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Sir Lenny Henry will be working alongside Jon Sen at Esmeralda Productions.<\/span><\/figcaption> Jack Hall\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Teaming up with the legendary actor, comedian and writer Sir Lenny Henry, Sen will be the Joint Managing Director of Esmeralda Productions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This new scripted start-up will \u201cfocus on broad appeal drama and comedy, with an emphasis on working with under-represented writers, cast and crew\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the move, Sen described his pleasure at working with a \u201ctrailblazer\u201d like Sir Lenny Henry.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cHe\u2019s somebody who we\u2019ve all looked up to, for his work not only just comedy but his work with diversity. He\u2019s obviously worked within the whole industry. It\u2019s a real exciting opportunity for us to do exactly what we\u2019re talking about \u2013 bringing out new voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hosanna\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Hosanna (Yazmin Belo), Leah (Rochelle Neil) and Chantrelle (Saffron Coomber) in Sir Lenny Henry\u2019s Three Little Birds.<\/span><\/figcaption> Douglas Road Productions\/ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Sen continued: \u201cWe\u2019re an open door, we want to provide a nurturing environment where everyone feels they\u2019re supported to produce their best work and that, given both of our history trying to push diversity forward, I think this is a moment when we can really engage with people who\u2019ve just not had that opportunity before.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, you know, Lenny\u2019s ITV series, Three Little Birds<\/a>, that\u2019s really exciting, and there would be some brilliant series off the back of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to really make sure that the momentum keeps going and that we make sure that we put our money where our mouth is and really bring on exciting new voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casualty returns later in 2023 and old episodes are<\/strong>\u00a0available for catch-up on BBC iPlayer<\/a>. Check out more of our\u00a0Soaps<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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